Things THEY Don't Tell You

Who IS this "they" who never tells you anything? (ex. They don't tell you this stuff…) It's the same person who knows everything too. (ex. You know they say…) So someone knows everything but refuses to tell you. Cruel.

I could hunt this person down and kick them.

But that would be entirely too difficult for this busy mama who only seems to have time for laundry, cleaning, and homework these days. Oh. And she's going back to work full time Wednesday. Holy. Crap. How will I find time to do anything!? Much less find time to hunt "they" down...

Now that I've been a mom for two and a half months, I've learned several things. I'm still not even close to knowing enough and I know I will forever grow as a mom. However, there are a few things I have under my belt I'd like to share… This will keep you from having an unhealthy vendetta against "they" like I do.

Here are my parenting tips and/or things that I didn't know that I now know and will pass on these learned experiences to you. Wow that was an awful run on sentence. Oh well, I don't have time to edit it.

Filthy House Filthy Clothes
Laundry never ends. Ever. I am constantly washing clothes and what I need seems to always be dirty. All I do anymore is clean the house. It's always messy. This weekend I was able to do a deep clean but I know it'll start back up within a couple of days.

Feedings
I was prepared to get up every 3-4 hours. Totally prepared for that. But what I wasn't prepared for was the fact that it takes babies like 30-45 minutes to eat their share for that feeding - and I have a good eater and I'm not breastfeeding. Apparently if you have a slow eater and/or are breastfeeding, you could spend over an hour feeding the baby. So that's where the lack of sleep comes from.

SIDS Mattresses
The new SIDS recommendations are great. They really are. The numbers have decreased by leaps and bounds. But for real, my crib mattress is harder to deal with than our Queen mattress in our bedroom. You see, the mattresses have to fit exactly into the crib. And the sheets have to fit exactly onto the mattress. So changing the bedding is seriously the hardest part of parenting. Ok, I kid… it's not the hardest part, but it really is hard! I don't remember who suggested the following tip to me, but I'm pretty sure I owe them my sanity - Put a mattress pad on the mattress, then a fitted sheet, then another mattress pad, then a second sheet. Guys, as painful as that process is, it will save you when the baby decides to explode on the mattress in the middle of the night (sleepily toss the top sheet and pad in the washing machine and you'll be back to dream land) or when you have a lazy laundry day and don't feel like pulling that last load out of the dryer at 10:20pm. Also. When you change the sheets and do all that layering, take the mattress out of the crib. They are relatively small mattresses so don't torture yourself by trying to make them in the crib like when you make bigger beds.

Save The Manuals
Yes, you did your research and purchased the top-of-the-line swing that grows with the child and eventually even converts to a mini fridge for their college dorm room. Kidding. Or maybe I'm not? They really have come up with crazy items these days. And yes, you had the hubs assemble the swing and found the perfect place in your house for it before baby arrived. But once the baby is born, your brain turns to mush and you forget what in the world that swing actually does, much less how to make it do those wonderful things. For instance, two and a half months later, I realize our bouncer has two reclining positions. Thanks, Graco.

Stack Wipes Containers
You never know you're on the last wet wipe until you pull the last one out. So what's a mom to do when that happens mid-diaper change? I had excellent advice to always put a spare wipe container ready to go under the open one. This is a great piece of advice and I recommend it to everyone!

3 Months Old!

Height: 22 inches

Weight: 11 pounds

She sleeps through the night every once in a while - we are working on making it a consistent thing.

She's starting to teethe really early.

She is now in the averages for her size so clothing is fitting exactly as it should.

We are so excited to celebrate her first Thanksgiving this coming week.

We cannot imagine life without her.

She loves rattles and mimicking others' facial expressions.

Her swing is her favorite place to nap and she loves being held to fall asleep.

Winter Delay

It's been too long. I know this. I can't believe I've let it get this out of hand. With work starting, driving all over the metroplex everyday for the saving-money-so-not-starting-child-care-until-December-grandparent-shuffle, and school work, my life has been a blur lately.

Work is great. I love my job! I am with an incredible University (with incredible benefits), and can really see myself potentially growing with them into their vision of the future. It's nice having a bunch of wonderful people to socialize with - I've missed that from working from home.

I'm afraid the rest of this year is also going to fly by and I think the lack of blog entries might continue. I am so sorry in advance. But the holidays are always busy any way.

Today Elayne turned 3 months old. 3 months. Can you believe it? It feels like she's been here forever and just got here all at once. As we put up clothes she can no longer fit into, removed the infant hammock from her bath tub, and packed up the pack 'n play from the living room, we realized she is growing fast. She changes every single day. More on that with her 3 month post, which will be posted soon.

We are under a WINTER STORM WARNING from noon tomorrow until noon Monday. I'm hoping if the roads get too terrible that school closes or delays Monday. I am not a fan of driving in rain, much less sleet - and I drive on some pretty tall bridges in DFW. I did talk with my boss Friday and he told me to go in as late as I need to in order to stay safe. So there's that.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow. It's so cold outside, and the precipitation tomorrow is going to make it even more winter-like. We've had a fire going since this afternoon, I haven't left my cozy clothes, and the crockpot has gotten a workout. Tomorrow will be much of the same.

Stay warm north Texans!

A New Chapter

Wednesday will be my first day back at work. Meaning, I will no longer be staying at home with my beautiful baby. It's going to be harder than I am thinking it will be. I keep saying I'm ready and bored and ready to put my mind back to work. However, coming Wednesday, I will likely be singing a different tune.

I have been blessed to be able to stay home with Elayne for 11 and a half weeks. That's a whole lot more than most moms get. I've gotten to see her grow so much and start coming into her personality.

I've been able to keep up with the house cleaning and laundry. It seems like it all piles up every day. Who knows how I will fare now… I bet our house will be a lot messier. Especially since free time will be spent with our baby girl instead of chores.

Elayne will be shuffled between her Nana K, her meme/gg/grandpa, and her aunt Heather over the next two and a half weeks. Then she starts child care on December 2nd. It worked out better to shuffle her around and save a bunch of money since the thanksgiving holiday falls in the middle of what we'd be paying for.

I'll be just as nervous for December 2nd as I am for Wednesday. Even though I LOVE LOVE LOVE the place we have chosen, it'll still be hard to let her go.

This is just the first of many many many many many times to come where I have to let go and let her grow up.

Weekend Adventures?

This weekend, Phillip will be heading down to Wurst Fest in New Braunfels for some much needed "guy time". It'll be quite lonely around here, but I figure it will give me a weekend to prepare for my new job starting Wednesday.

Therefore, Elayne will be heading to my parents' so I can have uninterrupted time to get stuff done. And by "get stuff done" I mean that I will be rushing around for two days straight.

I have a to-do list a mile long. While I will miss my baby girl, I need to get some rest before starting the 8-5 routine I haven't done in almost two years. Plus, I will be scrubbing our entire house from top to bottom (ceiling fans and baseboards included) and getting as much homework done as possible to prepare myself for the holiday season.

Sounds exhausting, right? Sounds like I definitely need the husband and baby gone for the weekend to prevent distractions, right?



…There is also a slight chance I could forget the whole list and spend the weekend napping, taking lots of bubble baths, and watching Netflix marathons...

EMPLOYED

I start November 13! As in a week from today! I am too excited about this opportunity!

It all happened so quickly, bloggers, and I love it. I applied about two weeks ago, had two interviews, and now I am employed!

I will work for the wonderful Parker University in Dallas. It was once called "Parker College of Chiropractic" but with their University accreditation coming in 2011, they changed their name to reflect a bold and ambitious future they are embarking on. They now offer health degrees from Bachelors to Masters, plus the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and Massage Therapy certificate. Every year from here on out, they are also adding numerous new degrees and programs. It's an exciting time to be a part of this University.

I will be the Administrative Assistant for the Dean of Student Affairs. It's the perfect way to blend my student affairs experience with my passion for health. I get to be the receptionist, first line of communication, and assistant to the Dean for all students in the health field. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Best of all, my new boss (the Dean) is very awesome and appreciates career development. His mission is to help all of his administrative assistants move on to bigger and better things. What a great boss!

I cannot wait to start!

Elayne will be rocking the grandparent/aunt shuffle for the rest of November and then starting childcare December 2! More on that in another post.